Pretty In Paint

[tncaveman]

Lost image?  These are actually not painted, but rather are dyed with a clear coat.  (except for the black one)
 
 

[jazzyvee]

Alembic generally do not dye the wood. In rare cases this has been specifically asked for. The black one follows the standard route of sealer, clear undercoat then the black paint so I could in practice have the black removed and end up with a natural body colour.

[briant]

The Darkness.

[bigredbass]

I rarely get them to pose together:
 

 
J o e y

[bigredbass]

I forgot the particulars:
 
The BigRedbass is a Series-shaped (with an Omega !) in long-scale (QUITE the reach to first position) with the deluxe laminates and mahogany wings with quilt tops.  I really liked it with the AXY-4's it came with, but I love it with the FatBoy 4's I retrofitted (thanks to Mica and Bob Novy).  Very light, just a little under nine pounds (enough to where I once wondered if it was a hollowed-out Series body, but it's not), and just a little neck heavy, like all long scales in this shape.  Also Steinberger-esqe in that so much of the neck is clear of the body, ridiculously easy to play around or north of the 12th fret.  I've always toyed with replacing the rotary selector with a fader, but I really like the OFF position, so  . . . It's a '92 and ridiculously stable in action.  Bought it as a consignment here in Nashville.  My first.
 
The green Elan Five was my take on the endless succession of Sadowsky-style hot-rodded Fenders.  All white wood, Ash wings, maple with cherry stringers, and Susan suggested the 'revealed edge' from the pinstripe in the topside rollover on the boy, as well as Sig electronics.  I reversed the P-pickup as per Lee Sklar and Yamaha, and spec'd all the old-school Alembic cues like the bird tailpiece and the witch-hat knobs.  It has the best low C's and D's of any five I ever heard, they just grind the low harmonics, amazing.  Noticeably heavier than its brother, but rides better on the strap.  This was a custom I had made, and could not have gotten it right without Susan and Will Gunn.  Took a long time to get the balance in the trim pots just right, the P is a LOT (a LOT) louder than the J, but I'm there now.
 
They're both currently running D'Ad XL's, 50-135's (I like bigger G's and D's), but may be test driving the GHS Gary Willis set next.
 
J o e y

[zomnius]

www Nice, but i thought the deepest sounds would come from the series  europa? According to mu experience with series 1.

[zomnius]

www Nice, but i thought the deepest sounds would come from the series  europa? According to mu experience with series 1.

[mike1762]

My Green Bass  

 

[rustyg61]

Thanks for all the posts guys! These are all gorgeous! Keep 'em coming!

[jazzyvee]

HI Joey, I was thinking of changing the gauge on my black maple Europa (shown above) for heavier ones as I use that bass primarily for reggae these days and having more mass in the string should give me an even more authoritative tone. So did you have to open up the saddles and the nut slots to fit this larger gauge string?

[jazzyvee]

HI Joey, I was thinking of changing the gauge on my black maple Europa (shown above) for heavier ones as I use that bass primarily for reggae these days and having more mass in the string should give me an even more authoritative tone. So did you have to open up the saddles and the nut slots to fit this larger gauge string?

[bigredbass]

Jazzy, in particular, it's a D'Addario EXL160-5 set (nickel roundwounds) in gauges 50, 70, 85, 105, and 135.  I have found no evidence of binding or jumping in the nut or saddles as I tune, it seems to tune normally, so I'd have to say no.
 
In the old days in the music store, I had access to the GHS Boomer singles and used to build a four-string set of 50, 70, 85, and 105, so I suppose this is back to that train of thought, I just prefer bigger G's and D's.  GHS has recently added an online store where you can buy any and all their various strings in singles, so I could really 'Frankenstein' sets now . . . .
 
J o e y

[bigredbass]

Zomnius, I've never owned a Series instrument (nor a Europa), but I have had more than a few five-strings.  In this case, it's (for me) just one of those happy occasions when this bass' woods and electronics are just right (for me) in the way it just sounds those last several notes at the nut on the B-string.  The red one is close, but I've just never heard those first several harmonics out of any other bass I ever played.  Play a C or D, and you hear the first several harmonics as a fast, repeating cycle in the bottom of the note.  You'll know it if you've heard this; if not, it's really hard to put into print.
 
I certainly wouldn't assign this as an 'Elan-only' or 'P/J Activator-only' phenomenon, it's just present in this axe.  I once played one of Will Gunn's fives that was the cocobolo-bodied, ebony/maple neckthru, the 'ultimate' recipe that Alembic recommends, and this was there in a different way, like the greatest grand piano you ever heard.  That I could see as being present in any of their basses built to that recipe.  But my green bass is 'just one of those basses' that just happened to hit the way it does.
 
J o e y

[paulk]

My purple Persuader  

   

[briant]

That purple Persuader is hotness.